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Topic: 16-35L or related primes (Read 9926 times)

I love the 16-35mm. It is really a great lens.And I definitely think you should go for the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 now that it is proving itself so quickly. That is a fast lens for under $1,000 with that level of build quality and sharpness. The reviews say it all:

I have a bunch of primes and the only zoom I kept was my 16-35, it's just too useful with that focal range.

If you're looking for something wider, go for the Samyang 14mm. It's only $400 so you can't really lose, and it's sharper than the Canon 14LII (which I own, and it pains me to say that but it's true). The distortion is a bit worse but that's easily correctable in Lightroom/PS/Aperture.

If you can deal with the pain of swapping lenses all the time and not having AF on all of them, I say go for the other setup, all the lenses you mentioned are excellent.

I have a bunch of primes and the only zoom I kept was my 16-35, it's just too useful with that focal range.

If you're looking for something wider, go for the Samyang 14mm. It's only $400 so you can't really lose, and it's sharper than the Canon 14LII (which I own, and it pains me to say that but it's true). The distortion is a bit worse but that's easily correctable in Lightroom/PS/Aperture.

If you can deal with the pain of swapping lenses all the time and not having AF on all of them, I say go for the other setup, all the lenses you mentioned are excellent.

crasher8

I love the 16-35mm. It is really a great lens.And I definitely think you should go for the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 now that it is proving itself so quickly. That is a fast lens for under $1,000 with that level of build quality and sharpness. The reviews say it all:

Thought I'd chime in here too as I'm in a similar situation looking for an ultra wide angle of decent quality. I too have the 16-35L, 24-70L II, 24 tse II and a Zeiss 35mm f2.0 for landscape work but have been looking for that ultra wide lens for greater FOV without sticking a pano.

I have rented the new Zeiss 15mm f2.8 and it is spectacular. I didn't care for the ergonomics of the 96mm front filter size. This lens is a monster and expensive. I just couldn't justify the cost. If price is not an issue, this Zeiss 15 is hard to beat in IQ and corner/corner sharpness.

As for the other Canon's 14L and 24, I've never used the 14L and cannot comment but the 24 i've had and sold since I purchased the 24 tse II. The 24TSE II is extremely sharp and lightweight in comparison to any Zeiss lens.

One of the big differences, IMHO, is manual focus vs AF for portability and getting critical sharpness. Anytime I'm going to use manual focus I always set up on a tripod and X10 the image in the VF. Obviously, any shot OOF is a waste of time and energy.

Best of luck.

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A few cameras (Canon, Fuji & Sony) and lenses and a lot of creative energy and imagination."You never learn anything until you mess it up."

Isn't there a 14-24mm coming? Might be a good replacement for the 16-35mm considering your other glass. Judging by Canon's recent efforts, it's likely to be sharper and will of course give you that extra width.

« Last Edit: February 12, 2013, 03:44:34 PM by mustafa »

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I have been having this same debate lately. I didn't really want to give up my 16-35 so I picked up a 28mm Sigma 1.8 on the cheap last week. For $200 its been all that and then some. AF is bit slow but the Bokeh & Macro features are stellar. Add in that it makes for a killer video lens its been the bargooon of the year for me. If money was no object the Canon 24mm 1.4 would be just AWESOME the colors, build everything about it is just unreal (so is the price)